Today I plan to engage my students in a discussion about being nice to everyone. Everyone is important. Some of us may be sillier than the rest of us, but we like everyone. At the end of the lesson my students will produce a drawing using all the crayons in their box of crayons. When we use all the crayons, our picture will be beautiful. When we are nice to everyone in class we can all be friends.

I gather the students on the carpet for whole group reading block.

"I have a sad story to tell. I was out on the playground this morning and heard a girl say she didn't want to be someone's friend and she ran away. Then I heard a boy tell someone they couldn't play zombies with them anymore. Both kids began to cry. Was this a nice thing to do or say? No it is not nice. I was so sad when I heard those children being so mean to my friends. Has anyone been mean to you? "

We talk about all our experiences when someone has been mean to us.

"How does that make you feel? When someone is mean to us, we feel really sad. Sometimes we cry. I hope no one is mean to you again. And I hope that you will never be mean to my friends. Everyone is special, everyone can be nice. We say every morning that we are going to be respectful, that we are going to say nice things to people. Did this boy and girl show respect? No, they did not. What could the girl say instead of your not my friend? Hmmm, let's think about it. I want you to get into your partners. Purple row will partner with blue row and green row partners with orange row. Turn to your partner and say "Hi, partner". Using the sentence frame, "The girl should _____." Tell your partner what the girl should have said. When your done telling your partner, touch your elbows."

I walk around to make sure all my students are participating. I sometimes have to be someone's partner. I choose several people to give me options the girl could have said.

"You all have great answers. She should have been nice and included the girl?"

"Now let's think about the boy who said the other boy could not play zombies. Turn to your partner again and tell them what the boy should have said. Use the sentence frame, "The boy should ___. "When you are done talking with your partner put you hands on your shoes."

I again call on a few students that had good ideas about what the boy should have good ideas of what the boy should have done.

"I think that we need to be nice to everyone. We make people feel bad when we say bad things to them. What do you think?"

I get a few good answers. (we should be nice, don't hit, don't kick, say nice things)

"The story I have for you today is about a box of crayons that acted just like the children this morning."

"The book I am going to read today is; The crayon box that talked. The crayons are so pretty and bright. They love to make pretty pictures but they don't like each other. They are even mean. Listen to what happens in the story."

As I read the story I point out all the details on each page. We talk about the places and events.

" The girl is in the toy store and she heard the crayons talk. Do crayons really talk? Have you ever heard a box of crayons talk? Oh, my, I never have either. So what kind of story is this where crayons can talk? Is this a real story or a make believe story? It is make believe. Crayons can not talk in real life, but they are talking in our story and the girl can hear them. Were they being mean or nice to each other? OOOOH, they are being mean. I wonder what the girl is going to do."

"The girl is buying the crayons, why do you think she is buying the crayons? What do you think she is going to do with them? Let's find out."

"This girl is so smart. Oh, my she is using all the crayons. Why is she using all of the crayons. Did she do it to show them how important they all were? Yes, and her picture is beautiful."

"What did the crayons say after the girl had colored the picture? What, they liked each other? Hmmm, I think all the colors are important. What if you didn't have a yellow crayon, how would you make a happy sun? Or if you didn't have a green crayon, what color would the grass and trees be? Yes, I am happy for all the colors. I am glad they all like each other now."

"Would you like to have a happy box of crayons or a mean box of crayons? I want a happy box of crayons."

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"We are like the box of crayons, the crayons needed each other to make a beautiful picture. We need each other to make a beautiful day at school. I want you to take your new box of crayons. Draw a Happy picture that uses all the colors. Color slow and pretty. Remember, we are going to use ALL our crayons."

When all my students are finished drawing their pictures , we sit back down on the carpet. I call my students up one at a time to oral presentation their drawings. Many of the drawings are lovely. Some students need to be prompt and coaxed to tell us what their drawing is. Each student is given the opportunity to present their drawings. We cheer and applaud after each presentation.